China 'strongly' protests PM's visit to Arunachal Pradesh

Ten days after the event, China on Tuesday expressed "strong" dissatisfaction over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh during electioneering.

"We demand the Indian side address China's serious concerns and not trigger disturbance in the disputed region so as to facilitate the healthy development of China-India relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

"China is strongly dissatisfied with the visit to the disputed region by the Indian leader disregarding China'sserious concerns," Ma said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.

He noted that China and India had "never officially settled" demarcation of their border, and China's stance onthe eastern section of the China-India border was "consistent and clear-cut".

Singh had toured and addressed an election rally in Arunachal Pradesh on October 3.

Recently, China had blocked part of a loan to India from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for developmental projects inArunachal Pradesh. China also protested a visit to the state last month by exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama.